1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus unit replacement assisting method and system for assisting unit replacement in an X-ray CT apparatus or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an X-ray computed tomography apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as the X-ray CT apparatus) has been playing an important role in many occasions in medical practice including diagnosis and treatment of a disease, scheduling of an operation, etc. The X-ray CT apparatus provides tomographic images of a patient based on strength of X-rays having passed through the patient. The tomographic images can be obtained, for example, through rotation scanning around the patient followed by predetermined processing.
A known detector employed in the X-ray CT apparatus is generally a detector referred to as “a single slice detector” or “a multi slice detector (or two dimensional array detector)” depending on an array arrangement of detecting elements. The former single slice detector is comprised of a plurality of detecting elements arranged in a row. The latter multi slice detector comprises more than one single slice detector, that is, arrays of a plurality of detecting elements in plural rows.
Presently, 4-slice type is used extensively as the multi slice detector mounted on the X-ray CT apparatus. According to this X-ray CT apparatus, four images can be obtained at a time as an X-ray tube and the 4-slice multi slice detector rotate around a patient once. That is to say, by using the 4-slice multi slice detector, it is possible to acquire images, such as tomographic images, at a speed four times as fast as the single slice detector.
Hence, there is an increasing clinical need for an X-ray CT apparatus equipped with a multi slice detector because of the capability of enabling an efficient diagnosis and reducing a total exposure of a patient to radiation, etc. It is thus well anticipated that a system that excels the 4-slice multi slice CT apparatus in a faster scanning rate, for example, an 8-slice CT apparatus or a 16-slice CT apparatus, will come into widespread use.
Incidentally, when a hospital purchases a CT apparatus (for example, a 16-slice CT apparatus) that is most recently developed by a manufacturer, a conventionally installed single slice CT apparatus or 4-slice CT apparatus is returned to the manufacturer due to a limited space or the like. Under present circumstances, however, the manufacturer has to scrap the old apparatus previously installed in the hospital.
Recently, manufacturers are conducting a study of the possibility of upgrading a detector alone. However, the detector accounts for a large percentage of the cost of the CT apparatus. Thus, the cost is little saved on the part of the hospital by upgrading the detector alone (to be exact, the detector and peripheral equipment). For example, one CT system costs tens of millions of yen, and the detector accounts for approximately 60% of the total cost.
Also, because a unit like a detector deteriorates over time, a warranty period or a lifetime is specified, and the detector may be replaced by a detector of the same grade when the specified term expires. In the case of a general hospital, when a new CT apparatus is purchased, the existing CT apparatus may be used in another medical examination. In such a case, the detector may be replaced by a detector of a lower grade that complies with the imaging conditions.
Meanwhile, on the part of manufacturers, it is difficult to control the assembly line of a CT apparatus because they are unable to predict the receipt of an order that is placed at random from the hospital. When the products are manufactured more than necessary, the products have to be wasted, and conversely, when the produces are manufactured less than necessary, the delivery of the system is delayed, which causes trouble to the hospital. Moreover, parts needed to assemble a CT apparatus have to be purchased in excess of necessary quantities in advance.
In addition, a CT apparatus is not something that the user can undertake installment or replacement of the detector. Hence, a service person has to be dispatched to the hospital for approximately one week on each request for purchase or for replacement of the detector, which makes it difficult for the manufacturers to manage the dispatch of service persons.
Moreover, each time a new apparatus is purchased, the CT apparatus or the detector is scrapped on the manufacturer's end, which is not environmentally good.
Incidentally, used CT apparatuses are being on sale recently. However, they are sold by the product, and not by the unit, such as the detector. Also, in the case of the secondhand sales, unconditional tube replacement service, maintenance and painting service, software upgrade service, and trade-in service are being offered.
In regard to such service, related arts are disclosed in JP-A-2001-196198, according to which an on-site replaceable unit, such as the X-ray tube, is configured to store data indicating the characteristics thereof, so that, by reading out the stored data, environment settings are made automatically when the on-site replaceable unit is attached to a medical diagnostic unit, which enables the upgrading of software programs through a network transmission.
Also, JP-A-2001-256342 describes service-information providing scheme related to a sales promotion and maintenance service system, according to which a purchaser of a personal computer or the like, or a purchaser of the personal computer as secondhand is provided with service information over a network, and the service information includes version upgrade information, discount information for those who made an access, etc. in addition to the product manual.